


Heart of Ice

by Popinbunnies



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 02:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9153874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Popinbunnies/pseuds/Popinbunnies
Summary: With his suit, Mr. Freeze can walk through this hell of a blizzard just fine. It was enjoyable even. But no one else in their right mind would go out in this weather.Not even the Batman.So Victor almost doesn't see the child lying motionless, facedown in the snow.





	

Over the years Victor Fries has risen to be known to the public as Mr. Freeze, it never got tiring for him to see the true beauty of a good blizzard. His breath blown away by the sight of the natural phenomena.

Winter was a harsh, unstoppable mistress, leaving nothing untouched by her cold, spindle like fingers.

Victor sighed almost dreamily as he allowed himself to stop and admire his surroundings.

Everything was covered in feet of snow and there was not a soul in sight.

Absolutely perfect, he thought.

Though of course, not everyone shared his view.

Whenever a monster of a storm like this one hits Gotham, the snow covered streets become for once, completely empty. Even some of the luckier homeless and prostitutes find some abandoned building to huddle in until the freezing weather has passed. 

However, the unlucky ones...

Let's just say Victor tries to avoid looking at their bodies as much as he can whenever he passes them.

Even in this weather, Victor has also learned that only certain kinds of people _willingly_ go into this kind of weather.

The desperate kind.

This year, the latest record breaking storm (that for once wasn't caused by Mr. Freeze) shut down all of Gotham and some other cities nearby. Supplies would be halted for weeks, and nobody was willing to venture the sub-zero temperatures for any amount of money.

Well, nobody in their right mind.

Earlier that morning, Arkham experienced a major breakout the likes it hadn't seen in _years_.

Not since Wayne upped the security and kicked out the guards who turned their heads for the right amount of cash.

While everybody was busy trying to find big shots like the Joker and Two-Face, Mr. Freeze slipped by unnoticed. This was, after all, his home turf.

Though in the back of his mind, Victor knew the Bat was crazy enough to follow him eventually, he also knew not right now. Not when the blizzard was at it's worst, and worse villains were on the loose.

So Victor casually walks in the open streets, relaxed in the knowledge he was safe and free. Well, at least for now.

His suit clanging as he trudges through the snow, heavily marching on, but in no hurry. The blizzard shows no sign of stopping.

Victor almost doesn't notice the child.

A blur flashes in the corner of his eye.

What was that?

For a confused moment, he'd paused, looking closely at the strange dark blob in the distance. A panicked feeling rising up.

Was Batman really crazy enough to have followed his (unsubtle) trail from Arkham?

Victor was preparing to make a break for it when he looks closer at it. And that was all he needed to see what, or rather _who_ it was.

"Oh my god," Victor whispered in shock, suddenly feeling nauseous.

It was a small, _too_ small child lying motionless, facedown in the snow.

"No, no, nonono..."

And to make it worse, even from this distance, Victor could see it wore way too little to be safe. When he stepped closer, he could see small blue hands peaking out.

He was able to, Victor would have puked out his breakfast into the snow.

Already decided, Victor quickly guided his suit over to the child's direction. Because while Victor was called a "supervillain", he wasn't heartless. No, he was the opposite. After all, Victor only fought on the wrong side of the law for his precious Nora.

(Oh god, Nora. What would she have done if she had saw the child?)

Shaking his head from his troubled thoughts, Victor hurried over to the child, and as he got closer, was soon able to make out more features.

His stomach clenched.

The child was a boy, somewhere around four years old (who would leave a toddler in this weather?) And pitch black hair rather like raven feathers circled his pale, _too_ pale face.

Kneeling down, Victor prepared to pick the dead body up. It was likely in this severe weather the child was already long gone. He sighed sadly as he looked down at the small corpse.

He suddenly felt a familiar anger at the world.

Why did the real villains always get away with stuff like this? First Nora, and now this nameless, innocent child.

Victor vowed, he'd find the child's guardians and avenge him. But for now, Victor thought as he gently picked up the cold child, he could at least give the abandoned child a grave.

Then said child opened his eyes.

(His eyes were just like Nora's.)

Victor's mouth gaped at the miraculously still alive and consious boy.

His pale mouth opened, moving soundlessly.

"...Muh--Mister..." The boy stammered, teeth chattering, and blue, so blue eyes staring up at Mr. Freeze.

Victor quickly hushed him, picking his light, _too_ light body up,.

"I'm so sorry," he said sadly, not really knowing why.

"...Fr-- freeze..."

The boy's imploring blue, intensely blue eyes (Nora's eye) stared into him. Victor couldn't make out the rest of his slurred mumbling.

"What?"

The boy leaned forward as if to give him a secret, blue lips moving almost silently.

Victor shook his head, cradling the boy against his chest in a vain attempt to give him warmth. The boy's frightenly small body attempting to shiver in his snow soaked clothes.

"It's alright, "He said gently, "I'm going to get you to the hospital. Do you know what hypothermia is?"

Victor didn't expect for the kid to know, but was surprised when the boy nodded. Victor stood up, moving across the snow towards the nearest public hospital.

"Good," He said, looking down at the small boy, "So you know how dangerous sleeping is, right? No matter how sleepy you are, _don't go to sleep_. Got it?"

Though the child clearly understood, Victor could already see his drooping eyelids closing dangerously. Panicking, Victor tried to think of something that would distract the boy.

The closest hospital was ten minutes away, but judging by the boy's worryingly shallow breathing, he might not make it in time.

_No._  

Mr. Freeze vehemently thought, once again thinking of his Nora.

No.

No more innocents were going to die on his watch. No more.

The suit's stomping feet agitated the flurries of pure white snow around them, leaving large footprint in a distinct path.

Mr. Freeze's metal suit ran as fast as it could, shaking the loose trash that were always around this part of town. Victor wasn't thinking about subtlety. All he thought about was not letting another innocent like Nora die again.

Victor looked down at the boy in his arms.

"What's your name?" Victor asked gently. The wind whipping around them and blowing mercilessly against the boy's small body, despite Victor's best efforts.

Surprised, the boy's eyes snapped open, looking at Victor as if nobody had asked him that before (Victor's heart clenched).

The child's mouth opened and closed, before he finally mumbled a word, the wind drowning out his answer.

Victor spoke as gently as he could, "Can you speak louder? I didn't hear that."

Blue (Nora's) eyes looked at him, assessing. For a moment, Victor felt he was looking through his soul and judging--

"...Tim."

Victor blinked, "What?"

The boy blushed, looking away, but saying his name louder.

"My name is Tim."

And for the first time in a long, long time, Victor smiled.

"Well, _Tim_ ," He said, pausing over the word," It's nice to meet you. My name is Victor."

Tim's face peaked out at him, staring before he answered timidly, "... I... know... Dr. Fries..." He bit his lip nervously, "... And, uh tha--thank you... fuh--for picking... me up..."

Victor blinked in surprise, slowly processing Tim's slurred and broken statement, before he frowned contemplatingly.

Why a child would know his original name was Dr. Victor Fries? Well, it wasn't like it was a secret, just. Victor looked down at Tim, unsure how to answer.

Nobody had really bothered to _learn,_ before _._  Everybody had just wrote him off as one of Gotham's newest batch of crazies.

And Victor certainly didn't associate with the other villains. No. He worked alone most of the time...

So nobody had called him _that_ name in a very, very long time. Almost another lifetime  ago it seemed.

"...Mr. Fries?"

Victor snapped back to reality to see Tim looking up at him, insecure and nervous. To his alarm, Tim had shrunken into himself for as if already expecting to be rejected.

But Victor only smiled at him, "...Nobody has called me Dr. Fries in a very long time, Tim... Thank you." He said truthfully.

This time, it was Tim's turn to be surprised, "But that's your _real_ name." He said adamantly, "Everybody deserves to be called by their proper name... Even villains."

Once again surprised by the child's simple kindness, Victor shocked himself by smiling twice in one day.

"You remind of a remarkable person I am proud of saying I once knew, Tim."

And this time, it was Tim who smiled back. His pale and gaunt face seemingly changing into an entirely different child (Victor's chest felt warmer than it did ever since Nora died).

He shyly blinked up at Victor, "Who were they?"

Victor smiled at Tim for the third time that day because apparently, miracles _did_ happen.

"Her name was Nora."

 

 

**__________**

 

 

For the first time since Nora's death, Victor was _happy_. Tim came into Victor's life, filling a hole that Nora left when she died, and Victor had never gotten over.

Of course, Tim refused to tell him his last name.

"I don't want you to kill my parents! Even though they're not always there, that's alright. They love me in their own way, and what happened really was an accident."

Victor snorts.

Tim looks disapprovingly at Victor, "You _know_ that, Mr. Fries."

Eerily familiar stubborn blue eyes stared up at him. So much like Nora. Showing a compassionate and way to kind person inside.

Victor had sighed, feeling his heart ache... But it didn't really hurt that much anymore.

"... Fine," He said to happy cheers.

"You're going to be the death of me someday." Victor mutters under his breath.

Nowadays, when Victor talks to his beloved in his dreams, he talks about Tim now. And despite Batman's threats to take Tim away, even the stubborn Bat can see how good Tim is for him.

For the first time... Victor is at peace with Nora's death.

"Nora..." He says to her, his beautiful angel. "Tim is a gift. My redemption, and I love him as if he were my son... _Our_ son..."

" _But?_ " Nora smiles patiently, blue eyes glimmering in the light.

"I'm afraid... I'm going to forget about you." Victor admits.

But Nora only laughs, the soft tinkling of bells.

" _Victor... You are simply accepting I died. I am at peace. All I wanted for you this entire time was to find **your**_ _peace."_

Nora kisses him on the forehead, her body already slowly disappearing _, "You know I love you. For forever and always."_

"I love you too, Nora." Victor says lovingly as ghost hands gently caress his face.

Victor wakes up to his usual ice chamber, feeling... Strange.

For the longest time, Victor's entire purpose as Mr. Freeze was to save his Nora, and when she died, avenge her. But now... It was just like his Nora said.

He was ready to move on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"Dr. Fries? Are you okay? You've been really distracted lately."_

_Blue (Nora's) eyes stare questionably at him._

_Victor smiles._

_"No... I'm actually really happy, Tim."_

_"Why?"_

_The hole in Victor's chest is gone now, and he is finally at peace._

_"Because you're here."_

**Author's Note:**

> So... Clearly I did NOT plan to have all that ANGST to come out... Oh well.
> 
> And to be fair, Mr. Freeze's origin is as tear-jerking as Magneto's.


End file.
